Carbon pack for manifolding typewriters



L. A PETlT March 25, 1941.

CARBON PACK FOR MANIFOLDING TYPEWRITERS Filed llay 15, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mVE SF [Ayala/c: fl. Psi-Ir.

' March 25,. 19.41. A, PET" 2,236,155

' CARBON PACK FOR MANIFOLDING TYPEWRITERS' Filed May 15, .1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 25, 1941.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CARBON PACK FOR MANIFOLDING TYPEWRITERS Laurence A. Petit, Chicago, 111. Application May 15, 1939, Serial No. 273,721

9 Claims.

\ This invention relates to maniiolding typewriters, billing machines and the like, and more particularly to such machines as are intended to write upon a number of superposed continuous work sheets or webs and in which the work sheets are interleaved with sheets of carbon paper for simultaneously writing upon all of thesheets. In particular, this invention is related to manifolding machines which are intended'to write 10 upon superposed continuous sheets or webs which are intended to be torn off in sections from the body of the webs so that each section when the typing thereon has been completed may be detached or removed.

Heretofore, in practice, two diiferent methods have been used for handling the carbon paper interleaved with the work sheets or webs for making the duplicate copies. The first of these methods is disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,177,546 issued to Jesse A. B. Smith on March 28, 1916 and consists of using carbon sheets eighteen or twenty inches long, each can bon sheet lying between two work sheets or webs and extending back from around the platen or roll of the typewriting machine to a light transverse arm to which it is secured. These transverse arms extend out at the sides of the work sheets or webs and are secured to a light carriage which moves transversely with the work sheets or webs as the platen of the writing machine moves across the machine as a line is being written and which moves toward the platen with the work sheets or webs as the platen is rotated after each line is typed to bring the work sheet into position for typing another line. When the carbon is arranged in this manner, the carbon, the arms to which it is secured, and the carriage to which the arms are secured are moved back relative to the work sheets or webs after I each set of forms is filled out and before they are detached from ,the continuous webs, thus placing them in position for the typing of the next set of forms.

Another way of handling the carbon in a manifolding typewriter using continuous work sheets or webs is described in United States Letters Pat-- ent No. 1,896,465-issued to David W. Rubidge on February 7, 1933, and is in some ways an improvement over that described above. It differs from it chiefly in that the carbon strips are much longer in length, such as twenty or twenty-five feet, and each strip of carbon is brought out from between the work sheets or webs by making a diagonal fold over a light wire guide and is then 3 .wound around a roller at the side of the work sheets. The rollers and guides are allmounted upon a carriage which moves with the work sheets or webs as the platen moves during the operation of the machine. After each set of forms is filled out, the strips of carbon, together with the diagonal guides and the rollers or spools are moved back relative to the work sheets in the same manner as are the carbon sheets and transverse arms described above. 1

In using both of the arrangements described 10 above, it is the ends of the carbon strips away from the transverse arms or rollers which are subjected to use and which wear out. As these ends wear out, they are allowed to project beyond the ends of the work sheets and. are tom 15 off so that, as the carbon is used, it advances gradually toward the platen of the typewriter. Eventually, the transverse arms to which the ends of the carbon strips are secured can be advanced no further, or the carbon is entirely unwound 20 from the rolls or spools, and. it is necessary to substitute new carbon. When this is done, there is a length of carbon extending from each arm or spool to the typewriter platen which has not been used and which is wasted. The advantage '25 of the arrangement using the diagonal guides and the spool is that, although the length of the wasted portion is greater than when the transverse arms are used, it occurs only once for every twenty feet of carbon, and the percentage of 30 waste carbon is much lower than withthe transverse arms. p,

The advantage ofthe other arrangement using the transverse arms instead of the diagonal guides and the spools is that it is much lighter 35 in weight. This point is of considerable importance because the entire carbon handling mechanism must move with the platen of the typewriting machine as the platen moves to space the letters being written along the line. Another '10 advantage of the arrangement using transverse arms is that it is simpler and less expensive than the arrangement using diagonal guides and. spools.

One of the principal objects of the present 5 invention is toprovide an arrangement for handling the carbon in a manifolding typewriter of the general type described above and which will be substantially as simple and as light in weight as the above described arrangement using short 50 strips of carbon and transverse bars and which will employ long strips of carbon and have substantially as little or even less waste than in the arrangement described above using diagonal guides and spools with long strips of carbon.

Another object of the present invention. is to provide an arrangement of the type described above by means of which either old or new machines of the type designed to employ short strips of carbon can be readily and inexpensively arranged to employ long strips of carbon and thus equal or surpass the economy in operation of the more expensive machines employing carbon on spools. 7

Another object of this invention is to provide a carbon pack for a manifold typewriter or similar machine which contains at least several feet of carbon paper and which is compact and easy to ship.

Another object of this invention is to provide a carbon pack for manifold typewriters or similar machines which contains several feet of carbon paper and which includes only cardboard, carbon paper and fastening materials in its construction and which is therefore easier and more economical to fabricate than the rolls of carbon paper wound on spools used in the machine disclosed in the Rubidge patent mentioned above.

Another object of this invention is to provide a carbon pack for use with manifold typewriters and similar machines which contains several feet 'of carbon and which can be used without diagonal guides around which the carbon must pass, thereby eliminating the possibility of the tearing of the carbon paper by such guides.

In its broadest aspects, my invention consists of a pack of carbon paper comprising several feet of carbon paper folded in such a manner that it is adapted to lie between the successive work sheets or webs being fed through the manifold typewriter or other similar machine, it being of course understood that one such carbon pack is provided for each work sheet below the first or top work sheet. Each carbon pack is arranged to be used with or is provided with an arm adapted to extend transversely of the continuous work sheets or webs and by means of which it may be moved longitudinally with respect to the work sheets or webs. These arms are adapted to be secured to a carriage similar to that shown in the above mentioned Patent No. 1,177,546 to facilitate their simultaneous movement. In addition, each carbon pack is arranged so that a small length of carbon paper may be unfolded from it as the end of the carbon paper becomes worn out and is torn oh. This may best be done by having the carbon paper folded over and over and unwinding it as necessary, but other ways of folding the carbon paper and holding it may of course be used.

For a more complete understanding of my invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a portion of a standard type of manifold typewriter with one of the preferred forms of the present invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the carbon pack forming the novel portion of the invention shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross section through the interleaved strips of carbon and superposed work sheets taken on the line III-III of Figure l and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is an end view of the carbon pack shown in Figure 2 as seen from the left;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 2 but with the upper layers of the carbon pack broken away in order t0 show the interior construction.

The particular form of the invention which I have chosen as a specific illustration is designed for use with the conventional manifold typewriter shown in the Smith patent mentioned above. Since this machine is well-known in the trade, there 'is no need of describing it here beyond calling attention to the following details.

As shown in Figure 1, this machine is provided with a carrier frame l8 secured to and extending back from the platen carriage l2 and movable with it from side to side. The carrier frame l8 carries a shifter frame 21 movable towards and away from the platen carriage l2.

The work sheets I1 are in the form of a continuous strip arranged in fan-fold formation, as shown in section in Figure 3, or they may be in the form-0f separate strips which lead forward over the carrier frame l8 and the shifter frame 21 to the platen ID in the usual'manner. The shifter frame 21 carries a pair of stepped brackets 38 that project up beside the work sheets and are provided with pairs of holes 31 at different levels. The holes 31 hold several carbon supporting arms 3| which extend in between the layers 0:: the work sheets I? and to which the ends of the carbon sheets floating between the folds of the work sheets are usually fastened.

The standard carbon supporting arms 3| are used in the preferred form of the invention, as shown in Figures 2 to 5, although special arms may be provided. Each arm 3| carries a clip 32 ordinarily used to hold the end of a sheet of carbon paper; this clip is left in place but performs no useful function. Each arm 3| is also provided with dowel pins 36 which fit in the holes 31 in the shifter frame bracket 38 in the usual manner and with a knob or handle 33 which facilitates the handling of the arm. The arms 3| are used to hold the carbon packs 34 which are the preferred form of the invention. Each carbon pack 34, in the particular form of the invention illustrated, comprises a sheet of cardboard 35 which is centrally folded, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, and has its two sides secured together by staples 40, so as to form a long narrow pocket between the staples 4B and the inside of the fold into which the supporting arm or bar 3| may be inserted.

The strip of carbon paper 26 which forms a portion of the carbon pack 34 is secured at one end 26' to the edge of the rectangular cardboard frame 35 opposite that into which the supporting arm or bar 3| may be inserted, and the entire length of the strip 26, which may be fifteen or twenty feet, is wound around the cardboard frame 35.

The carbon packs 34 carried by the arms 3| lie between the successive layers of work sheets I1, and the strips 26 of carbon are partly unwound from the packs 34 and extend between the work sheets. The strips 26 extend with the work sheets under and around the platen ll! of the typewriter to the location upon which they are to be typed. Thus. whatever is typed on the uppermost work sheet is reproduced on the other work sheets.

When the typewritten matter on a work form has been completed, the latches 62 and 63 that hold the platen frame 49, 50 are released, and the platen in together with its frame 49, 50 is swung up away from the feed rollers beneath it and forward against the stop 56. The ends of the work sheets I! are then grasped between the thumb and finger and pulled forward to the gauge 59, which has been swung forward with the platen frame, and the carbon shifter 21 is simultaneously moved back by means of a handle 1| fixed to it and extending forward to a convenient position. This operation shifts the carbon sheets 26 back from between the forms which have just been filled out and places their ends between the next set of forms to be filled out. The platen frame is then swung back into its normal position, which causes the work sheets to be gripped between the platen l0 and the feed rollers beneath it, thus holding the work sheets l'l while the set of forms which have been been filled out are torn off along the blade or knife 10. The gauge 59 is set so that after the work sheets have been pulled out to it and the platen H] has been swung back into its normal position, the bottoms of the forms which have been filled out will lie along the edge of the knife 10. At the same time, the shifting frame 21 has been pushed back far enough so that the ends of the carbon sheets will lie a little below the knife 10 so that, after the filled out forms are torn oif, the remaining forms will project a short distance beyond the ends of the carbon sheets to enable them to be grasped without grasping the carbon sheets, thus facilitating the succeeding operation of moving the carbon sheets back with respect to the work sheets or webs After the ends of the carbon sheets 26 have been used for making out a number of sets of forms, they become worn out. When this oc curs, the shifting frame 21 is not pushed back as the ends of the work sheets [1 are pulled forward preparatory to being torn off or else the shifting frame 21 is not pushed back as far as when the ends of the carbon sheets are not worn out. The result of not pushing back the shifting frame 21 or not pushing it back as far as at other times, is to allow the ends of the carbon sheets to project past the knife 1|] together with the forms which are to be torn off so that, when the forms are torn off, the'ends of the carbon sheets will also be torn off and may then be removed from the sever-ed forms and disposed of.

The tearing off of the ends of the carbon sheets 25 reduces the length of that portion of the carbon sheets which is unwound from the carbon pack 34 and is free to extend along between the work sheets II. In order to restore this free portion to its original length, the layers of work sheets I! are spread apart where they cross the shifter frame 21 and on the side from which the carbon pack support bar 3| extends. The carbon pack support bar 3| is then lifted, thereby removing the pins 36 on its under side from the'holes 31 in the supporting bracket 38 and detaching the support bar 3| from its bracket 38. The carbon pack 34 can then be pulled out to the side a little and turned over twice, thereby unwinding an additional length of carbon paper 26, and re-inserted into position between the work sheets II. This operation is of course performed with each of the carbon packs 34, the preferable sequence of operation being either to start with the uppermost carbon pack, detaching the arm 3| from the bracket 38, and unwind-ing the pack, and proceeding down to successively lower carbon packs until all are unwound, or else to first detach all of the arms 3| from the brackets 38 at once, move the shifter frame 21 back and then unwind the carbon packs one at a time, starting with either the uppermost or the lowermost one. After similar amounts, generally one full have been unwound from each of the carbon packs 34, the

arms 3| are again secured to the brackets 38 pack 34, is a standard machine of which a great number have been in use for many years. My invention brings to these machines the advantages of the latest types of machines employing carbon in rolls, without makingit necessary to go to the expense of providing any new parts for the machine and without involving the increase in weight which would otherwise be caused by the addition of the rolls for the carbon and their associated mechanism. All that the owner or operator of the machine needs to purchase in order to bring it up to date and secure the maximum efficiency are merely the carbon packs, each composed of the cardboard frame 35 and the strips of carbon paper 26 wound around it, and the cost of these Will amount to less than the cost of the carbon paper which he' would otherwise use because of the greatly reduced waste of carbon paper when it is made up into my novel carbon packs.

While I have shown only a single form of my invention, it will of coursebe understood that the invention may be carried out in numerous other ways, some of which will readily occur to the skilled mechanic. For example, the arm 3| may be made a permanent part of the carbon pack and a new arm supplied with each new carbon pack, and the clip 32, which serves no useful purpose when the arm 3| is employed with my carbon pack, may of course be omitted. Also, the frame 35 around which the strip of carbon 26 is wound may be made of other material than cardboard, such, as for example, light sheet metal i-n which case it may be made integral with the arm 3|. Also, if suitable fastening means are provided on the shifting frame 21, the cardboard frame 35 of the carbon pack may be extended out to the side and secured directly to the shifting frame 21, thereby eliminating the arm 3|. carbon strips 26, such as a zigzag fold, may be employed in place of the continuous wrap-around,

fold which I have illustrated, but the form which I have illustrated and described, with the continuous Wrap-around fold, cardboard frame 35 and separate metal arm 3| seems at the present time to possess the greatest combination of advantages and to be the preferred form. In view of the above, it will of course be understood that the particular construction which I have shown and described is shown and described merely as an example of the invention and that I claim Other ways of folding theas my invention all structures or combinations falling within the scope of 'the accompanying claims.

I claim as follows:

1. A carbon pack comprising a sheet of stiff material having a transverse fold defining two portions of said material, means securing said two portions together on a line spaced from said fold and forming a transversely extending pocket, and a strip of carbon paper secured to said sheet, said strip of carbon paper being wound around said folded sheet.

2. In combination with a manifold typewriter or the like adapted to employ continuous fanfold forms and having means extending between said forms from opposite sides for holding strips of carbon paper between and independently of said forms, transversely folded strips of carbon paper secured to said means and lying entirely between said forms, each of said strips including a supporting sheet and said typewriter including a part extending transversely of said form on which said supporting sheet is mounted, so that each strip of carbon paper may be moved longitudinally and independently of said forms.

3. In combination, a typewriter or the like adapted to employ continuous fanfold forms, arms extending across the path of said forms from opposite sides and adapted to project between said forms, transversely folded strips of carbon paper secured to said arms, the folds of said carbon paper extending transversely of said continuous forms, and means for moving said arms and said carbon paper longitudinally of and independently of said continuous forms.

4. In combination, a typewriter or the like adapted to employ continuous fanfold forms, arms extending across the path of said forms and adapted to project transversely between said forms, strips of carbon paper secured to and having substantial lengths thereof folded flat about said arms and having the terminal portions thereof extending perpendicularly away from said arms, a carriage movable longitudinally of said continuous forms, and means on said carriage for holding said arms, said last mentioned means being releasable whereby said arms may bemanipulated for changing the carbon paper.

5. As an article of manufacture, a carbon paper pack for insertion between the plies of a fanfold form in a billing machine and the like comprising a sheet of carbon paper folded into a substantially fiat form and having a free tail portion for threading into the typewriter of the machine, and means connected to said pack for detachably and transversely mounting said pack transversely between said plies with said tail portion extending lengthwise of said plies, said means including a sheet carrying said folded carbon paper and having a portion constructed and arranged to detachably receive a part extending from said machine transversely of said plies.

6. As an article of manufacture, a carbon paper pack for insertion between the plies of a fanfold form in a billing machine and the like comprising a sheet of carbon paper folded into a substantially flat form and having a free tail portion for threading into the typewriter of the machine, and means connected to said pack for detachably mounting said pack transversely between said plies with said tail portion extending lengthwise of said plies, said means including a sheet carrying said folded carbon paper and folded to provide a pocket for receiving a part connected to the machine and extending transversely of said plies.

7. As an article of manufacture for use'with manifold typewriters and the like adapted to employ continuous fanfold forms and having thin fiat arms extending in between said forms from opposite sides for holding sheets of carbon paper between said forms, a carbon pack comprising a sheet folded to provide two layers and forming a frame with a pocket between said layers and adapted to receive one of said arms, and a strip of carbon paper folded on said frame.

8. As an article of manufacture, a fiat carbon pack for use in a multifold billing machine or typewriter comprising a central stiffening flat core, and a strip of carbon paper wound around said core and stiffened thereby in substantially flat form, said stiifening core having a pocket of narrower width than that of the core shaped and constructed to receive endwise thereof a supporting arm on the machine.

9. As an article of manufacture, a fiat carbon pack for use in a multifold billing machine or typewriter comprising a central stiffening flat core, and a strip of carbon paper wound around said core and stiifened thereby in. substantially flat form, said stiffening core being formed so as to be connected on one of its sides to the machine whereby the carbon paper can be progressively removed from the core without necessitating removal of the pack from between the plies of paper being typed.

LAURENCE A. PETIT.

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